Texas cookin’: restaurant sales to hit $42.5B

TEXAS – In 2014, the Texas restaurant industry is expected to post 4.7 percent sales growth, reaching $42.5 billion, according to the National Restaurant Association (NRA).

2014 will be the fifth consecutive year of restaurant industry sales growth despite a continued challenging economic landscape.

Texas restaurants will employ 1.1 million in 2014 and create an additional 170,800 jobs in the next decade. 2014 will be the 15th straight year in which restaurant industry employment growth will outpace overall employment growth.

For example, Abilene has seen an influx of restaurants opening. McAlister’s has opened their second location on North 10 & Judge Ely, the third Golden Chick location opened on US Hwy. 351, and Firehouse Subs has taken out a $450,000 building permit to begin construction on the vacant space near Target on Ridgemont Dr.

Local Abilene restaurants say they are already seeing an increase in sales since 2013. Oscar Avila of Oscar’s Mexican Restaurant says his business has seen an 8 percent increase, which he attributes to the oil boom in Midland and Odessa.

Read more at Big Country homepage.com.